Yes.
Hey, who remembers lawn darts? Those things were awesome, especially when they got lodged in your friend’s sinus!
No.
However, my kids do wear helmets because most of the friends do. With some of the pimped out styles available, it’s become another medium of self-expression.
That said, I don’t freak out when they forget to put theirs on.
They must wear lids when riding ATVs or when practicing free-style tricks on their bikes. You know, higher risk situations.
Riding around the block, not so much.
He shouldn’t have been trying to see which was closest until everyone had thrown.
Three words: Lawn. Dart. Tag.
My neighbor did that, but for some reason my mom always had a chore for me to do when he was playing. Coincidence? :dubious:
I notice a tendency in our current common society to be focussed on blame, compensation and retribution, rather than self-care knowledge, problem-solving and responsibility for one’s actions.
What is our first response when there is an accident? Whos fault is it? rather than What (collectively) are we doing wrong and how can we fix it. That comes later, after the proper palms are greased.
We seem to expect to be taken care of and that all possible harm to humans can and should be prevented.
I can think of a number of reasons for this:
-Acquisitiveness fed by consumerism
-A dirth of spiritual values that has led some to believe that things can compensate for emotional and physical mishaps
-An overweening (or perhaps just hopeful) sense that science, technology and human endeavors can conquer natural consequences
-A seeming inability to apportion our time appropriately with an emphasis on fun and games and work at the cost of modeling and teaching life skills.
But then I may just be old and crabby. . .
I never wore a bike helmet (I was born in 1978), but my sister ('85) did. That was after she had a nasty spill and while she didn’t hurt her head, she still has some major scars on her leg from it.
Personally, I don’t remember falling off of my bike (other than when I was learning), but I DO remember quite a few near misses with cars, because my friends and I tended to be a wee reckless.
My cousin once got a concussion from falling off of her bike. So, it probably makes sense. I mean, scraped knees, no big deal, but concussion? Not so good.
(My mother however used to get upset when my cousin and I would play with sticks – as in pretend they were swords or whatever. She used to do the whole “put an eye out” crap. Other than that, she was mostly cool.)
I think it also has a lot to do with the fact that many parents now don’t want to be bothered with actually, you know…watching their kids. If we go to the pool, and my 3 year old (who can’t swim) wants to go around the edge while in the pool while holding on, guess what…I’m right there with him about 1 foot away. He’s my responsibility, and while the lifeguard is there to save lives, they are not responsible for my child. However I’ve been in the pool and had a 3 or 4 year old that was throwing toys, and spraying people with a water gun (actions against the rules) while his mom was lounging around reading. When we’re at the pool, one parent to one child…even now that my daughter is old enough to play on her own, we’re still in the pool keeping an eye on her and correcting behavior that she shouldn’t be doing.
Another time I was in McDonald’s, and watched this father come in and start reading a book while his girl played. Hey, I like to read as much as the next person, but he never once looked up from the book to see what was going on. I’m constantly watching the kids to make sure they don’t get out of hand. Not because they’re bad, but because it’s the nature of kids to keep getting wound up because they don’t know when it’s “too much”, that’s my job as a parent, to settle them down when they get a bit too rambunctious.
So I think that’s part of it…everything has to be totally safe, that way I don’t have to pay attention to my kids, I can just let them play while I twitter or update my facebook.
Good point. It is very interesting to go to a park and see how many parents aren’t even paying attention and could have their kids swiped while 10’ feet away. I don’t recomend try that out though.
Pfff. Mine go to the park by themselves. “Bye. Make sure you come home before dark.”
I’m glad that people are actually taking more personal responsibility. Using safety gear and avoiding risky activities is being responsible. Who cares what risks others are willing to take for themselves? Do what you feel is necessary to reduce your own risks.
By the same token, I dislike the state mandating safety gear for activities that do not expose others to risk.
Yeah, but when the state pays for your health care, they certainly have a say in the matter.
You sound like my neighbor.
I grew up riding a bike, a horse, sledding, snow and water skiing, and I never had a helmet, and still dont. Neither did my kids. We also had a lake and we always kept loaded guns handy(an unloaded gun is not much good).
We learned to steer, to avoid cars and trees, learned how to swim, and we were taught not to shoot our playmates.
We didnt shelter our kids, nor did we give them helmets and flak jackets every time they went out the front door, instead, we taught them common sense and how to do things in a safe manner. Instead of giving your kid a helmet, just teach him to not run into trees!!!
I can not imagine riding a bike, horse, sled, or skiing while wearing a helmet.
I think some people believe in a Nanny state and NEED to be protected from themselves, and other people learn how to take care of themselves. Its a different mentality.
I’m going to have to come down on the side of helmets on bikes being a good idea. When I was a teenager, I saw a guy biking downhill in a bike lane next to the high school. Then I saw someone open a car door right in front of him (a girl getting dropped off for school). He flipped over the door and landed on his head. He was seriously injured, but alive and conscious, because he was wearing a helmet–which was quite unusual back then, but he looked like a serious cyclist.
Contrast this with my FIL, who was hit by a car while on his bicycle back in the 60’s–he received a severe head injury. He lost from 25-30% of his brain, had to re-learn everything, and is only sort of functional. It’s a miracle he’s not a vegetable, so that’s nice, but he’s not at all easy to cope with.
I never wore a bike helmet growing up. I never ran into trees, but I had some pretty interesting accidents anyway. I can think of two times where I narrowly avoided serious head injury. I wear a helmet now.
I do let my kids go snake-hunting though. 
Yesterday they were out with friends at the park and caught a katydid and a 30" grass snake.
Really? I have always wondered how necessary those things really were. I have no kids, and If my wife wants those things when we do (have kids), I’m sure I’ll go along with it… But can a baby really cram their fingers in that skinny little slot far enough to get any shock? I always thought those little covers (besides being super annoying) looked like they were the perfect size to choke a kid.
Now if you had a socket with the lamp plugged in, i could see a kid getting a good zap by pulling the plug out halfway and then touching the prongs, but I don’t think a cover would do much good to prevent that.
ETA: Maybe installing GFCI’s everywhere would be a better solution??
Aha, just wasn’t being as inventive as a child… I didn’t think about them picking something up (like a key or something) and jamming it in there!!
I’m just glad I outgrew riding bikes, about the time I could drive, before it became legally mandatory for kids under 18 to do so.
When I was biking as a kid in the mid '90s helmets weren’t cool. If you wore one you were considered a pussy. Looking back I’m surprised there wasn’t at least one Darwin award winner in my neighborhood – kids do really dumb stunts on their bikes and it takes very little force to crack open a human skull. If you just sit on a bike and fall off to the side that’s enough. It doesn’t have to be anything dramatic.
Wearing a helmet while riding a bike makes sense, but why not for driving a car? Seatbelts help some, sure, but it seems that driving at 80 mph warrants a helmet too, no? The only downside might be if rescue personnel can’t pull you from the crushed, burning wreckage because your helmet is pinned or compressed around your head.
I think if you have kids that need electrical socket cover, helmets, body armor, and life jackets, then you should also keep your car keys and kitchen knives always locked up.
My gosh!!! There are some people out there who unload their guns but keep sharp scissor and butcher knives unlocked and easily accessible to any child who can reach 30 inches above the floor.
…its just a different mentality.
They might not be able to cram their little fingers in there, but they could stick other stuff like twist ties or a butter knif. I don’t know why one would. We did not cap all our empty outlets but we did have a few covers, sort of snap on plastic cases that covered all of the plugs in an outlet to keep things powered and prevent the scenario you describe. If you had to choose between outlet covers and cabinet latches, go for the cabinet latches.
As for helmets, I have no problem requiring them for sledding, skiing, skatboarding etc. When I was a kid nobody wore seatbelts or helmets. Then experts compiled data about the benefits of seatbelts and now their use is common. It seems from some news stories I’ve heard that experts have more understanding now about the long range effects of concussions and so helmet use should become common. My son’s pediatrician said to him, “If you’re on something that can move you faster than you can run you should be wearing a helmet.”
That to me is a whole different issue from the leaves. That just makes me mad. If you’re getting a pile of leaves together you should be remembering, even if you’re not planning to do it, how much fun it is to jump in a pile of leaves and not make the pile over jagged rocks, your glass recycling or a bear trap. I will say that as kids we were strongly cautioned not to jump in piles we hadn’t made ourselves, mainly because of the possibility of hidden dog poop. Also not allowed was messing up a neighbor’s leaf pile without fixing it.
When we were roaming “unsupervised” in the late 60s and early 70s we were actually prett supervized. More people were home during the day, aqnd a lot of them were busybodies. My mom worked but only 'til 3:00pm until we really were old enough to be home without her. If we were playing where we shouldn’t someone who knew our mom would call her and tell her. I don’t know my neighbors names, let alone their phone numbers.